Patrice Pellerin

An author, illustrator and scriptwriter born in Brest in 1955, Patrice Pellerin is the creator of the famous historical and maritime comic series L’Épervier, which he has been developing since 1994.

A self-taught artist with a passion for history, he began his career in educational illustration before moving into comics thanks to Jean-Michel Charlier, who asked him to take over the Barbe-Rouge series. The young Pellerin thus followed in the footsteps of Hubinon, Paape, Chaillet and Jijé. Pellerin produced two Barbe-Rouge albums, in 1983 and 1987: Trafiquants de bois d’ébène (Hachette) and Les Révoltés de la Jamaïque (Novedi). Having caught the comic book bug, he then tried his hand at writing scripts, drawing inspiration, once again, from illustrious masters such as Zévaco, Gautier, Dumas and Stevenson. Between 1986 and 1988, Patrice Pellerin wrote the first three volumes of the series Les Aigles décapitées (Glénat), a grand medieval saga with an intriguing title and a fascinating plot, illustrated by Jean-Charles Kraehn.

From 1994 onwards, Patrice Pellerin devoted himself, as a writer and illustrator, to what was to become his magnum opus: L’Épervier. Through the adventures of the knight Yann de Kermeur, a former privateer and pirate of the 18th century, Pellerin is able to depict his beloved Brittany, portray history and take his readers on a voyage across the seas and oceans he holds so dear.

Part revenge story, part treasure hunt and part grand adventure, L’Épervier is celebrated not only for its plot but also for the quality of its historical reconstruction, for which Pellerin consulted a wide range of specialists. L’Épervier, published by Dupuis and later by Quadrants (Soleil), has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and received – amongst other honours – the Historia Prize for historical comics in 2016. L’Épervier was adapted into a television series broadcast on France Télévisions in 2011. Éditions Dupuis dedicated the coffee-table book L’Épervier, secrets de tournage (2011) to this adventure.

Readers can also deepen their understanding of Pellerin’s work through L’Épervier, archives secrètes (Dupuis) and L’Épervier, les escales d’un corsaire (Quadrants). The series, which has been a huge hit with the general public, comprises ten volumes, which have taken the sailor from Brest all over the world, and most recently to Canada. Patrice Pellerin is also interested in archaeology. He has led an excavation campaign in French Guiana at an 18th-century settlement site.